Process of ore treatment.



O. ROBINSON.

PROCESS. 0F 'ORE TREATMENT. Y APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29, 1910. RBNEWED 1930.1, 1913.

Patented July `2,8, 1914.

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I 'SH01/11W tion, reference being had therein UNrrEn spares reruns? OFFICE..

CYRU'S ROBINSON, DF MUN'T' VERNON, NEVI YORK, ASSIGNOR TO METALLUBGICAL ENGINEERING & lPlCESS CGRPOPATEON, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF ORE TREATMENT.

Specification oi lLetters Patent. A Patented July 28, 191gD Application filed November 29, i510, Serial No. 594,703. Renewed December 1 1913. Serial No. 804,114.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that l. Crans Ronrvson, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Vlestchcster and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processesot Cre Treatment, of which the following is a specificato the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in processes of ore treatment and more espe cially to processes in which pulverized ore is first mixed with solvent solution to be acted upon, then separated from the solution and then subjected to the action of a second solvent solution.

One of the objects' of my invention is to provide a process of this character in which the ore is mixedwith a second solvent in an improved and novel marier.

Other objects Willappear from the fol-v lowing specication.

In the accompanying drawings l have in-` dicated more or less diagrammatically one form olf apparatus which maybe used in carrying out my improved process. This a paratus is similar in some respects to t at disclosed in co-pending1 applications by myself and Robert S. Towne, for improvements in processes for extracting metals from ores, filed July 14, 1910, Serial No. 572,024, and for improvements in apparatus for extracting metals from ores, tiled d an. 24, 1911, Ser. N o. 604,176. It will be understood', however, that this apparatus which is shown in the drawings has been s'eiected merely by way of illustration and that other forms of apparatus may be equally well adapted for carrying out my present invention.

Of the drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of one form of apparatus which is adapted to be used in carrying out my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a part of one of the dehydrators shown in Fig. l. y

In-reading the following specification it can be considered as descriptive of a potassium eyanid process, but it will be apparent that the process described is equally applicable to the extraction ofE ore values by other chemicals such as are well known in the art. Referring to the drawing, A indicates a tube mill or other preferred form of reducing apparatus. To this mill the ore to be treated is supplied and at the same time-there is supplied to the mill a solvent solution from a receptacle B. After the ore has been pulverized and intimately mixed with the solution inthe tube mill, it passes, together with the solution, to a receptacle indicated by C. This receptacle C maybe of any desiredtype but it is pref-` erably provided with means such as me` chanical stirrersor jets of air or liquid such as additional solvent solution for agitating the mixture and insuring rapid action of the solvent on the ore. the receptacle C is complete the mixture of ore and solvent solution passes to a dehydrator indicated by D. This dehydrator may be of any of a number of forms, but

l that which I nowprefer and which I have diagrammatically indicated in the drawing is shown and claimed in my co-pending application for dehydrators, tiled Nov. 29, 1910, Serial No. 594,704. This dehydrator comprises a tank in which the mixture of" orc and solution'is contained, and a rotating drum partly submerged in the mixture within the tank, the drum having its circumfers ence made up of a filtering medium and being provided with means for connecting the inner surface of the medium with a vacuum during certain parts of the revolution. A@

pump D may be provided for maintaining After the treatment inl the vacuum. As a result of this vacuum on the inner side of the filtering medium,l the liquid constituent of the mixture in the tank is drawn intothe drum and out through a pipe such as-D2 connected with the vacuum pump. At one side of the drum there is provided a trough D3. A scraper O'r dedector D4 engages the surface of the drum At D5 there is provided one or more pipes extending longitudinally of the drum and having longitudinal rows, of apertures di'- rected toward the drum surface. Thepipes at Di5 are connected with a suitable source from which a fresh solvent solution under presand deflects material from it into the trough.

sure may be supplied. This fresh `solution 'servesv to breakdown and Wash the layer of ceptacle E may also be provided `with means 'for-'agitatin the mixture. From 'the re- -eeptacle- E t e mixture oforeand the secsolutio'n ,passes'to a second dei end .solvent i washed into the trou h Fs bv -means of jets of liquid from the pipesFs which are conture preferabl Ahydrator H w ".far as my-=present invention is concerne ere it maybe diluted by an incomin stream of pure water. If the wash r G 1s provided the mix-v pass from it to a'thirddeich tha be similar to-the dehydrators ,D and F. n-this case,

clface .of the drum into the trough Hs by means of pure water instead of by means of a solvent solution. From Hs the mixture of ore and water with a small residue of solvent and barren solutions, but it will 'be understood that such a system is not essential(i so Ashes been before pointed out, there is connected 'vth each 'dehydrator a vacuum These vacuum pumps are indicated F' and H', respectively. There is so connected with veachdehydrator a pre# cipitation box to which is passed the' solvent solution withdrawn from t e mixture by the dehydrator and in which the values contained in thesolution are extracted. These recipitation boxes are represented by D, 11io andH", respectively. rom the precipih t tation box I-le a part of the barren solution is pum'ped tothe cleaning and mixing pi es 5F" of the dehydrator F.' The remain er passes on andy joins a part of the barren solution from the precipitation box F". This combined baren solution from the boxes 'H and F i p umpedto'the cleaning and mixing pipes jDs of the dehydrator D. The f remainder of thevbarren solution from the i' Egecpitation box Fi passes on and is joined the barren solution from the precipita t'nholeDt .hydra'tor F similarf'in construction to thedei hydrator D. From the surface of the drum ofths second dehydrator the ore may be nected with a suitable source of su ply.' ,This liquid mayi-f desired be athird so vent solution,4 and when such a third solution is used the mixture preferably assesfrom-vthe I y'trough F3 to a washer Gr wli 25 however,` the ore is vpreferablywashed from the surp0lutionlandlof values is discharged as tailthe drawings I have shown a closed 'system for handling the value containing vfrom the boxes F6 and D- is pumped-into the receptacle B. From. therecep'tacle B the solutions are returned to the tube mill A and the receptacle C. A suiicient quantity of Water is supplied to the washer G tolofset such lossesof liquid as occur atvthe dehydrator Fresh solvent' is added at B in suiiicient quantities to maintain the' proper apparatus and also to odset the loss which vvoccurs in the tailings. j.

What I claim is: l

1. 'The herein described process of ore vtreatment which-.consists in mingling an ore mass rwith a solvent solution to permit'the solventto dissolve a' portion of the values from the ore, separating the solution. from lthe ore by a process, as a result of which the oreis left on a surface, removinv the ore fromthe said surface b means of:s a stream of fresh solvent solution, permitting the sfaid fresh solvent solution to act on the ore which it removes to dissolve further values therefrom,separating the said second solution from the ore, and extractin the values froml the said first .and second so utions,'substantially asset forth.

treatment which consists in mingling an ore 'mass with a solvent lsolution to permit the solvent tofldissolve aportion of the values from the ore, separating the solutionfrom theore, subjecting the'ore mass, after the saidsolution has lbeen separated fromit, to the action of a jet of fresh solvent solution, whereby the ore mass is broken up and intimately mixed with the said second solution, permitting the said fresh solvent solutic to therefrom, separatin the said second'solution from theore' an extracting the values from the said first and second solutions, substantially asset forth.

3. The herein described process of ore treatment vwhich consists in mingling of an re mass Wit a solvent liquid to vpermit the Asolvent to dissolve a portion of the values from the ore, the sepa-- ration of the said liquid from the ore,and

action of a second liquid, the said separation the collection of the ore on the surface, and .the said subjection of the ore to the action 'of a second liquid being initially eifected-by forcing a stream ofthe said second liquid it therefrom, substantially as set forth.'-

4. The herein described process of ore ttreatment which consists in mingling a body` .of ore with a solvent'liquid to permit the from the ore, separating the greater portion This combined barren solution of the solvent liquid fromv the -ore .by a

art in the.

of the rst liquid from the ore resulting in strength of solvent solution. throughout the 2. The herein described process of ore.

act on the ore to dissolve further va ues 4the subsequent subjectionof the ore. tothe against the ore on the said surface to remove .Y

'solvent to dissolve a portion of the values v 'ratng'-lthe liquid from the process as the result of which the ore aud the both of the said separated liquids, substansmaller portion of a mass on a surface, removing the said mass from the said surface by means of a stream of fresh liquid whereby the part of the rst liquid remaining in the mass is diluted, sepasaid resulting mixture, lund extracting' the values from the solution are left in tially as set forth.

l 0 In testimony whereof I aix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

' CYRUS ROBIN SON.l A Witnesses:

.EL J. G.. MASTER,

DAV@ Sco'rr. 

